The Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) is preparing a Bill that would allow the more than three million Kenyans in the Diaspora to vote through the Internet.

IIEC chairman Isaack Hassan said Parliament needed to amend the elections law to allow for the new polling system, which might be handy considering the amount of data the commission would be processing in 2012.

Currently, the National Assembly and Presidential Elections Act only provides for a manual voting system.

"We are looking at election laws with the aim of incorporating best practices in our voting system. E-voting may assist us process electoral data faster and in an efficient way," said Hassan.

New constitution

Mr Hassan said they would include E-voting in the Bill to be in tandem with the new Constitution.

He was speaking during an E-voting system demonstration by the Estonian envoy to Kenya, Kadri Human Ayal.

The Estonian Republic is currently undertaking elections where its nine million eligible voters are voting through the Internet.

Had no choice

Narc-Kenya Chairperson Martha Karua, who attended the function, said Kenya had no choice but to embrace E-voting.

"In 2012, Kenyans will be voting for a whopping nine positions, which will attract many candidates. Counting and tallying of votes will be a nightmare for IIEC considering that everything has to be done on the same day," said Karua.

The MP for Gichugu said Kenya could borrow part of the Estonian system, but which would require amending existing laws.

"We can adopt E-voting with some modification so that we seal all the loopholes brought by technology," said the Narc-Kenya leader.

IIEC says about Sh10 billion would be required to conduct electronic vote